Last week P.A.E.’s newest flagship, the Nordhavn 86, made a huge splash as she was launched into a test tank, effectively commencing the final steps of the building process and remaining on schedule for shipment to California this summer.

Nearly 500 staff from the South Coast yacht yard, along with P.A.E. project managers Dave Harlow and Trever Smith, gathered to watch the massive boat lowered into the water. “This launch was so exciting,” said Harlow, who was at the factory to check on N55 production as well as the new 75-foot Expedition Yacht Fisher project he oversees. “The whole factory – about 470 people – stopped what they were doing to see the launch. And it couldn’t have gone smoother. Before we knew it, the boat was in and tied up.”

The launch has been a much anticipated event after what has been years since the Nordhavn 86 was first conceived then passed through the drawing, tooling and construction phases. “It has been a long, tedious build,” said Smith, the N86 Project Manager. “We have spent so many hours discussing the most minute details to ensure that we have a great start on the N86 project and it has paid off. Hull #1 will be something that everyone at South Coast Marine Xiamen and P.A.E. can be extremely proud of.”

Now that it is in the water, weight calculations to ballast the boat can be completed and the placement for the boot stripe will be marked. While the boat looks somewhat incomplete, Smith says this is due to the hull painting process which will soon commence with priming of the yacht. Many items previously installed have been removed to make the paint job seamless.

So what needs to be wrapped up before the 86 makes her way to California? “The paint job needs to be finished, all wiring and plumbing need to be completed, the piping systems need to be pressure tested and varnish needs to be applied,” said Smith. “Assuming all goes well, this boat will be ready to ship in June.”